Restrictions on citizens returning from abroad

australia is to halve the number of citizens allowed to return home from overseas every week to take pressure off the quarantine system as it struggles to contain an escalating outbreak of coronavirus.

The state of Victoria, which includes Melbourne, reported 288 new cases Friday. There are fears of a wave of community transmission in a country where most COVID-19 cases have involved returned travellers.

“The news from Victoria remains very concerning,” said Prime Minister Scott Morrison, pictured. Since March, australia has allowed only citizens and permanent residents to enter with some 357,000 having returned. it will now impose a cap of 4,175 people a week and those returning will also have to pay for a mandatory 14-day quarantine in a hotel, which until now had been paid for by state governments.